


Winchester Corp.

by ChocolateKid



Category: Supernatural
Genre: A little, A little bit of angst, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Amara Has a Crush on Dean Winchester, Amara's a bitch, Bisexual Dean Winchester, Castiel Has a Crush on Dean Winchester, Cuddling, Cute Castiel, Dean Winchester Has a Sexuality Crisis, Dean in Denial, Dean rejects him, Dean rescues him, Flowers, Fluff, Gay Castiel, Genius Castiel, Happy Ending, Heartbreak, Hero Dean, Hurt Castiel, Inventor Castiel, Jealous Amara, Kissing, Lonely Castiel, M/M, Making Out, Marriage Proposal, Nice John, Oops, Parallel Universes, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Rejection, Secret Admirer, Teleportation, Weird Castiel, amara finds out, and gets jealous, at first, but he's not secret at all, castiel gets transported to a parallel universe, castiel is an inventor, dean realizes his feelings bla bla bla, he works for john winchester, he's just a little eccentric, i guess, i love this, not really tho, so i guess just 'admirer', they live happily ever after, when he meets dean he falls in love, you barely read about him tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 14:25:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11128692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateKid/pseuds/ChocolateKid
Summary: Castiel is the most renown inventor at Winchester Corp. and married to his work. When he meets Dean Winchester, his boss's son, his world turns around. What will happen when Amara, another one of Dean's admirers, finds out about Castiel's attempts to win Dean's heart though?This is based on a very detailed prompt that I'll put in the end notes because it contains spoilers.





	Winchester Corp.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CoralQueen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoralQueen/gifts).



> Hey guys!
> 
> First of, thanks Evangeline74 for the prompt, I really appreciated it! Also, thank you for trusting me enough not to screw this up, hahah, I hope you like the outcome. Let me know either way.
> 
> Second of all, I finally, _finally_ , after all this time, managed to finish this story! I'm really excited to publish this because it was based on a such a detailed prompt and was a real challenge to write. Again, I really hope you all like this.
> 
> Also, I've written about 14,000 words and that means it's officially my longest story so far. Is it me or do they get longer every time? xD Anyway, have fun reading, I've worked on it for a while (not including the time I wrote my finals) and I'm rather happy it's done.
> 
> And, like always:  
> Enjoy!

Castiel hated parties.

Castiel _hated_ parties, in general, but what he hated even more than regular parties were the stupid posh parties the company he worked for held regularly. There wasn't much to do other than eat and talk politics, and since Castiel didn't have many friends -or any for that matter-, he was left standing alone most of the time. He was somehow meant to be the pathetic, lonely man standing next to the buffet all evening.

Castiel sighed. His suit was uncomfortable, his tie felt like it was choking him and he was convinced people were looking at him weirdly, as if they were silently judging him. Castiel didn't like the feeling. He wasn't good with people anyway and everybody here knew it, making his loneliness at events like this even more prominent. But then again, Castiel told himself, he didn't have time for friendships anyhow because he was basically married to his work.

...It wasn't as bad as it sounded.

Like always, Castiel wanted to be anywhere but here this evening, preferably in bed and fast asleep, but Winchester's parties were compulsory for all employees and since he was one of the most renown inventors the corporation employed, Castiel's absence would surely be noticed. Additionally, his boss, John Winchester, would always introduce him to new people throughout the night, showing him off to whoever was willing to listen. Castiel thought it was stupid but he couldn't change it either.

"Ah, there he is!" John Winchester's voice suddenly sounded from behind him, right on cue. Castiel rolled his eyes defeatedly for a moment, before turning around with a weak smile on his face.

"Hello, Mr. Winchester, sir," he greeted his boss respectfully, before taking a look at who was walking next to him. Eyes widening, Castiel took in the sight in front of him, because the unfamiliar man was exactly that, a _sight_. Short, dirty blond hair, warm green eyes, freckles -- a face out of a magazine, that's what this man was. Ken doll material even. He was well-built too, strong arms visible underneath the white dress shirt and despite his muscles, he still didn't seem like the ' _I work out at the gym all day_ ' type. He was perfect...

Castiel couldn't help but stare.

"Dean Winchester," those beautiful lips now said, catching Castiel's whole attention and he barely realized that the man was holding out his hand to him. When he eventually noticed, he took it quickly, hoping desperately his palms weren't as sweaty as usual. Dean didn't flinch, so they hopefully weren't.

"C-Castiel Novak," Castiel stuttered, flustered, trying to get control of himself and his visibly awestruck face again.

_Yes, okay, he's totally attractive; you don't have to be too obvious about it!_

He let go of Dean's hand reluctantly.

"So you're the infamous Castiel Novak," Dean repeated, smiling at him brightly, and Castiel's heart nearly melted. All he could do was smile back stupidly. "I've heard a lot about you."

The tips of his ears growing hot, Castiel blushed and stared some more, not a single word leaving his lips.

He was awkward like that.

Dean didn't seem to notice.

"Well then, I'll leave you to it," John announced, clapped Dean and Castiel on the shoulders and left them behind, causing a slight panic to rise in Castiel's chest at the thought of having to talk to Dean alone. But Dean didn't seem all that bothered by it and just continued talking conversationally.

"I gotta tell you, I'm really impressed by your work. That self-stirring mug you invented? Totally awesome. Not to mention that new hover board of yours, my nephew _loves_ that thing," Dean told him proudly, overwhelming Castiel a little with his praise. He sounded so sincere... And yes, Castiel was used to people being appreciative of his inventions, but they hardly ever called him out on it or gave him a lot of credit, all the feedback he normally got was just how much of his stuff the company sold. Only rarely did anybody make a comment about Castiel's 'amazing work'.

"Th-Thanks," Castiel stuttered and silently cursed himself for not being able to talk normally. This was getting ridiculous. "The hover board, it, uh, it took me longer than it should've, to be honest. Almost half a year," he admitted bashfully. Since hover boards were nothing new, it had taken him an unusually long amount of time to build his improved version. It shouldn't even have taken him four months, but he wasn't happy with the result at the time and just continued working. Thankfully, the time had paid off. Winchester hover boards now had lots of cool features other companies didn't have and they were the hottest thing on the market right now.

"That's okay, it was all worth it. Genius can take its time," Dean said and winked at Castiel, the latter's eyes widening in disbelief. Dean had winked at him! He felt like he might faint. "Is there anything new you're working on at the moment?" Dean then asked and Castiel gulped down his insecurity and stood a little straighter. He could tell him about his work; it was the only thing he knew how to talk about after all.

"I'm, uh, I'm working on two things, actually. Have been for a while... The first one is a solar powered outlet. You attach it to a window and if it's day, you have electricity," Castiel started, growing a little more relaxed. Work was safe territory for him. "I'm almost done, though, it shouldn't take me long to figure out the last kinks."

"That's awesome, man," Dean said and again, Castiel was slightly overwhelmed by the fact that this gorgeous man truly admired him for his work. How did he deserve this? He surely didn't. "What's the other thing?"

"Well, it's a... It's a teleporter," Castiel said bashfully, knowing how ridiculous he had to sound. Nobody really believed in teleportation yet, knowing how much energy it would take and how much damage it could do to a person if it was done wrong. People were scared of the risks and skeptical, and Dean probably didn't think any differently... Nevertheless, Castiel wouldn't give up. He was determined to be the first person to ever build a functioning teleporter and he would freaking deliver!

So far, it had worked after all, with small things like toy cars. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

"Really?" Dean asked, grinning, his childish excitement a stark contrast to the serious-looking suit he was wearing. "Dude, that'd be awesome! If anybody can build one, it's you."

"I... Do-- do you really believe so?" Castiel asked incredulously.

"Sure," Dean replied and smiled warmly. "I'd ask you about how it works but I'm pretty sure I'd just end up listening to your lovely voice all evening, not understanding a damn thing." He laughed when he said that. Castiel blushed.

"Th-Thank you again, Mr. Winchester," Castiel forced out, trying to keep calm, but his heart was thumping in his chest excitedly. What was it about this man that threw him off so much? One flirty comment and he was a slobbering mess...

"God, stop! Please don't go all 'Mr. Winchester' on me. That's my father. Just call me Dea--"

At that exact moment, somebody called Dean's name from across the room. They both turned their heads.

"Ah, that's my Dad. I suppose I have to go now," Dean announced, turning away from him instinctively but shooting one last smile at Castiel. "I'll see you around, Cas," he added.

The nickname made Castiel's knees weak.

"See you around...Dean," Castiel muttered, more to himself than anyone else, and watched Dean disappear into the crowd slowly.

Wow.

That was totally not the turn of events Castiel had anticipated for this evening, but no way was he complaining. And Castiel knew what he needed to do now. For the first time in his life, he _wanted_ somebody, needed them to be his, and for the first time in his life Castiel was ready to take a risk for that.

He knew what he had to do.

He was going to try and win Dean Winchester's heart.

* * *

It was an awfully dull morning, Dean decided. Outside it was raining, the falling drops drumming a tiring rhythm against his bedroom window, and even the prospect of coffee didn't make him perk up like usual. It had gotten a little late yesterday. After the party his Dad had made him attend, he'd gone to a bar with his friend Benny to relieve some of the evening's tension with some drinks. He might've had one too many...

His alarm rang again then, the third time this morning, and Dean didn't have it in himself to ignore it another time. He turned it off clumsily, still half-asleep, and sat up with a groan.

Nope, still not a morning person.

He forced himself to get up nevertheless, taking a quick shower to properly wake up, and already felt it working wonders. He felt fresher when he left the bathroom, close to ready for the day even. After a cup of coffee, he'd be as good as new.

One cup was empty fairly quickly, the second following soon after, and before he entirely realized, he was sitting in his Baby and on his way to work.

Thank God his Dad was the owner of Winchester Corp or Dean might get in trouble for showing up late some day. As it was though, nobody would scold him as long as he turned up within the first half of the day. Yep, his life was awesome like that.

"Morning, Meg," Dean greeted their secretary when he strolled into the building.

"Morning to you, too, doll face," she joked, not even bothering to look up at him. Dean chuckled. Meg was a good worker, a little sarcastic at times but a great person deep inside her heart. He'd grown quite fond of her over time.

"Anything new?" Dean asked and walked up to the counter.

"Not much," she said casually. "The newest episode of whatever the hell this demon bullshit is called was released yesterday, meaning Becky's home 'sick' again," she announced and Dean snorted quietly. It was a miracle nobody had called Becky out on her behavior yet, or fired her even. She was absent quite often. "We found a substitute for her though, so you don't have to jump in. You can go do whatever your _actual_ job is today."

It was true. Despite being Dean Winchester, future heir to Winchester Corp and son of John Winchester, he often jumped in for whoever was absent, doing whatever job needed to be done. Once, Dean had even helped out in the canteen when Ellen called in sick, and even though he almost didn't dare to admit it, he was surprised to see it wasn't as easy as he'd suspected.

These kinds of experiences were part of why he loved doing what he did though. He had variety.

"Oh, and you had a delivery today," Meg interrupted his thoughts, a smug edge to her voice that he couldn't quite decipher.

"What kind of delivery?" he asked, frowning. He hadn't ordered anything recently.

"You'll see it once you get to your office. I told them to bring it up there," Meg said, a smirk tugging at her lips but she kept her concentration on the computer. "Seems like you've gotten yourself an admirer."

"Admirer?" Dean repeated, dumbfounded. What did she mean, _admirer_?

"You'll see. Now stop bothering me and go upstairs, I'm sure you have work to do. Or not. I don't even care," Dean was waved off and since he knew that arguing would do more harm than good, he disappeared towards the elevator.

 _Admirer_...

He pressed the button for sixth floor -the management section of the building- and leaned back against the wall. The good thing about having an office that high up was that the view from the windows was awesome, the bad thing was that it was exhausting to climb all the stairs if the elevator was stuck again. Which happened quite a lot, actually. Wasn't it weird that with a whole floor full of dedicated mechanics, nobody bothered to repair the thing? A little maybe. Then again, the research and invention sector was only on second floor, so they didn't have to climb a lot of stairs and therefore didn't need it fixed.

He'd have to make somebody take care of it some day...

Luckily enough, the elevator ran smoothly and when Dean arrived in his office, he immediately saw what Meg had meant. On the middle of his desk was a bouquet of flowers in a vase, filling the empty space and seemingly enlightening the room with their colors. They were beautiful...

For all of three seconds Dean couldn't do anything but look at them, dumbfounded. Nobody had ever gotten him _flowers_ before. He wondered who had sent them.

When he finally got a hold of himself again, he took a few steps towards them, carefully reaching out a hand to touch the blossoms. They were surprisingly smooth. He loved it.

All of a sudden, something white caught his eyes. It was some kind of label, hanging from one of the stems, and there was something written on it. Dean pulled it off slowly and read.

 _They match your beauty._  
_-Castiel Novak_

Dean froze. Castiel Novak? A frown spread on his face. Why the hell would Castiel Novak, their company's most important inventor, send him _flowers_?

Could it be a joke, maybe? Dean didn't think so... From what he'd heard about the eccentric man, Novak was not one to crack jokes very frequently.

So... what exactly did it mean if he was serious?

Not quite sure what to think, Dean set the vase down at the edge of his desk, making some space for himself and getting to work. It was probably nothing after all, just a gesture of respect maybe. Dean didn't know. Castiel was a little weird after all.

Then again, Castiel had seemed rather captivated by him the day before...

Fact was though, the flowers were beautiful and no matter who had sent them or with what intentions, the effect was still the same. Dean's mood was already improving at the thought of somebody caring enough to send him some.

Shaking his thoughts off, he finally concentrated on his work. Phone calls had to be made, letters needed to be written, reports were due in a few days. It by far wasn't Dean's favorite part of the job, but it was what the company needed him to do, so he'd do it. It was their family business after all.

He started writing.

Hours later, there was a knock on his door, a questioning, "Dean?" sounding through. Dean sighed. He'd recognized the voice immediately.

"Come in, Amara," he said defeatedly, preparing himself for the worst, and leaned back in his seat. Amara was alright, really, if a little blunt and insensitive at times. She was also _very_ persistent in pursuing her affections, as Dean knew first hand, and he'd give anything for her to just leave him alone every once in a while. She never did, of course.

"Hello, Dean," she said when she pulled open the door and entered. She didn't smile but that wasn't anything unusual. She never smiled. "You didn't call."

"Um..." Dean mumbled and let a hand wander through his hair in distress. Amara had forced her number on him a few days ago, insisting that he'd call her soon. To be honest, he'd thrown it away the minute she'd turned around... Not that he could tell her that.

"Well, I was... I was busy, I'm sorry," he apologized half-heartedly.

"Will you call me tonight then?" she wanted to know, her face stony as always, and she came to stand in front of his desk determinedly. Dean had to admit, it was somewhat threatening to have her standing above him like this, quietly seething on the inside. He didn't know what to say as to not anger her even more.

"I-- I don't know yet. I've got a lot on my plate at the moment, I probably won't have the time..." he lied, hoping that she believed him but also kinda hoping for the opposite and that she'd finally get the fucking hint. Amara didn't visibly react to his words, so Dean still didn't know whether he'd succeeded or not. Instead, her gaze wandered to the bouquet of flowers on his desk, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Who are these from?" she asked and reached out a hand to touch the blossoms, not seeming to appreciate their beauty but rather wanting to feel the delicate structure underneath her fingers. The gesture felt violating in a way.

Dean hesitated before answering, not wanting her to know but seeing no point in lying either. And maybe she'd leave him alone if she believed Dean was gay -which he wasn't-, as flowers sent from a man might suggest. "They're from Castiel Novak," he therefore said and the second the words left his mouth he knew it had been a mistake.

Amara's fingers pulled away harshly, ripping apart one of the blossoms, and her gaze turned dark and intense. Jealousy visibly coursed through her, making her blood boil, and even though it was kind of amazing to see Amara lose her cool, Dean was scared shitless at the same time. He couldn't do anything but stare at her, expecting to get slapped every moment now, but it didn't happen.

Instead, Amara set her jaw and balled her fists, holding herself back. She'd obviously decided she wouldn't hit the person of her affection.

"I wouldn't give Castiel's actions too much thought," she spit out arrogantly instead. "He's a madman and a loner."

Okay. So what? Dean cocked an eyebrow in annoyance.

"You're mine!" she continued and her voice was venomous. "I will not let him have you!"

And with those words, she turned her back to him and stormed out of his office.

 _Wow_ , was all Dean could think. _Whoever thought giving her the job was a good idea?_

He kinda felt bad for Castiel now though. The guy didn't deserve Amara's rage -- in fact, nobody did. But what was he supposed to do? Fire her? Dean couldn't even imagine her wrath if he did _that_. She'd _literally_ kill him.

So he'd just deal with it and wait it out. Maybe her feelings for him would disappear if he kept on saying no.

The only thing he could do was hope.

* * *

Over the course of the next few days, Dean received more presents. Even though he was surprised at first, he quickly got used to them and began to expect them whenever he walked into his office. The flowers were a different kind every time, but all of them were beautiful and had a sweet note with them.

The last one had been: _I hope_ _they brighten your day like you brighten mine._ Adorable.

To be honest, Dean was pretty sure that if he _was_ gay, he'd totally have fallen for the guy by now. It really was a shame he wasn't.

So, yeah, the flowers kept on coming and people kept on asking who they were from but Dean never told. He'd learned from his mistake concerning Amara and he'd decided it would be better better if nobody knew.

Speaking of Amara, Meg told him a few days later that she'd had to rip the flowers out of Amara's greedy hands more than once; she'd apparently decided not to let Dean receive them in her jealousy. So far, she'd failed and Dean was always greeted with the sight of a beautiful bouquet on his desk.

Still, Dean was pissed because of Amara's behavior. He thought it was ridiculous and annoying, and he didn't know how she dared to even think she had the right to interfere. The only thing she did achieve was to make Dean angry.

As soon as Dean had heard about Amara's attempts though, he'd started coming to work earlier, so he'd be there to accept the bouquets. He didn't want to take the risk of Amara getting to them. Yes, they were just flowers but Dean had never received that much attention from a person that wasn't Amara, much less a _guy_ , and he was weirdly possessive over them. He couldn't help it.

And because of that, he waited in the lobby with Meg every day until the delivery guy came and asked for "Mr. Dean Winchester," accepting the flowers proudly.

Sadly, he almost never ran into Castiel. There were a few times he caught a glimpse of the man, but he was always gone before Dean knew it, never staying to talk or even acknowledge him. He seemed to be completely absent whenever Dean met him, probably absorbed by his work or something. Dean supposed inventors were weird like that, always thinking about the job...

Nevertheless, it somewhat annoyed Dean.

It wasn't as if he _liked_ Castiel that way, Dean probably just liked the attention he gave him. And yes, the flowers were nice and the notes were adorable, but it bothered Dean a little that he was otherwise ignored. If Castiel really had a crush on him, why did he never try to start a conversation? Dean wasn't hard to talk to. It didn't make any sense.

Dean forced himself to shake off the thought. Why would he even want Castiel to talk to him? He didn't like him!

It was on day eight when Castiel finally noticed his presence.

Dean had gotten up early again, like every day lately, and strolled into the building. His attention was on Meg right away and they talked until the delivery guy came. Once Dean took the flowers, a smirk on his face, he said goodbye to Meg and left towards the elevator.

The door was still open when he arrived, somebody had obviously just gotten in, and Dean hurried inside just before the doors closed. He barely made it and sighed in relief when he got in just in time. He hated waiting for it to come back down.

Only then did he take a look at whoever was standing next to him.

It was Castiel. And he was staring at Dean, or rather at the bouquet in his hands.

Dean couldn't help but stare back, not knowing what to say all of a sudden, and Castiel's eyes flew up to his. Noticing he'd been caught looking, the man blushed furiously. It was kinda cute -- not that Dean would ever admit that.

Instead of saying anything, Dean pressed the button for the sixth floor and looked at Castiel curiously, expecting at least some kind of reaction, a "Hello" or whatever. Nothing like that happened though.

Castiel turned away instead, staring ahead with his ears on fire, and Dean suddenly realized that Castiel was _nervous_. Castiel Novak was too nervous to talk to him. Wow.

Knowing that Castiel got off on second floor, giving them only a few more seconds, Dean quickly thought of something to say. He just wanted _some_ kind of acknowledgement from Castiel. One word. But he couldn't think of anything.

"I got stuck in here yesterday," he ended up saying and silently hated himself for it. What the hell? Castiel flinched in surprise, risking a glance in his direction, and stared at Dean with wide eyes.

"O-Oh," he stuttered, seeming a little overwhelmed. How could one send flowers with such straight-forward messages and still be as awkward as this? "That... sucks," Castiel added and his eyes flickered between Dean's eyes and the flowers again.

Just as Dean was about to say more, the door opened with a _ding_ , and Castiel turned away, speed-walking out of the elevator. "See you around!" Dean yelled after him and cursed himself once again. What the fuck was _wrong_ with him? He wasn't the one with the crush!

The doors closed again slowly, only adding to Dean's frustration, and the elevator continued its way upwards.

It got stuck on fifth floor.

"God damn it," he cursed and pressed the assistance button.

* * *

Castiel was dying of embarrassment.

Holy _shit_ was he awkward.

The shameful encounter he'd suffered through yesterday couldn't be erased off his mind even now, replaying in his head over and over again and Castiel had been cursing himself violently ever since. It had been _his_ chance! He hadn't seen Dean around much before and now that he finally had, the situation _perfect_ , he'd screwed up yet again.

Weirdly enough, _Dean_ had been the one to start the conversation, which meant he apparently wasn't opposed to talking to him -- even if it was only to fill the awkward silence between them. Hell, Dean had even been carrying his flowers! It could've been the perfect moment for Castiel to make a joke about what a 'beautiful bouquet' Dean had, easily striking up a conversation and maybe even asking him out. But of course he'd failed.

As easy as it was to send flowers and a note, it was unbelievably hard to talk to or even _look_ at Dean without getting flustered. It was embarrassing...

Castiel chased the thought away. It was too late now anyway, it was in the past and next time, Castiel would do better. He'd ask Dean out whenever they'd next get the chance to talk, Castiel promised himself that. He needed to get it over with or he'd end up sending Dean flowers until he died.

With that decision in mind, Castiel entered the building. Meg was at the counter, as always, that suggestive smirk on her face she always seemed to wear when it came to Castiel. He never knew what to make of it though, so he usually ignored it.

When he passed her, he threw her a distracted smile, lost in thought, when he suddenly remembered something. He stopped in his tracks.

"Uh... Meg?" he started, hesitating for only a second before stepping up to the counter slowly. Meg leaned forward attentively.

"Yes, Clarence?" she asked, batting her eyelashes, and he instinctively knew she was making fun of him. He didn't like it but ignored it pointedly.

"Could you, um... could you tell Dean that he won't have to worry about the elevator anymore? Dean Winchester, I mean? I fixed it yesterday, so it shouldn't be a bother anymore," he explained, his face beginning to heat up under Meg's intense gaze, and he shifted uncomfortably. Meg always made him uneasy.

"Sure thing, Clarence," she finally said and winked at him. Castiel only fixed her with an annoyed glare.

"That's not my name," he muttered, knowing she'd ignore it, and turned away irritatedly. It had been a mistake to talk to her but Castiel kinda wanted Dean to know what he had done. Castiel had stayed after hours after all and it'd taken him rather long, too. Repairing an elevator wasn't an easy task -- or something Castiel was particularly familiar with.

Using the now perfectly well working elevator, Castiel rode up to second floor and walked towards his 'laboratory', as he called it. The teleporter, a big machine consisting of two identical parts and a console, was already waiting for him, impatient to be used again. Castiel was convinced the teleporter itself wanted to succeed just as much as he did -- not that Castiel would ever say that out loud to anybody. It made him sound crazy.

He got to work. He set up his camera, making sure to check the position and angle, and wandered towards the shelf he was keeping his test objects on. What would he try this time?

He decided on the same objects as last time, since he wanted to see the direct difference between his current and his previous attempt. Setting the stuff down at his desk, Castiel turned on the camera.

"This is test number 433," Castiel said at the beginning, just like every time. He had to admit his job was rather monotonous sometimes but he still loved everything about it. "The test objects are a red toy car, a human tooth and a caged rat."

Getting the toy car from his desk, he held it up for the camera shortly and set it down in the teleporter. He wasn't too concerned about it not going to work; Castiel had teleported lots of toy cars in his latest tests and they'd always appeared on the other side -- flawless or not.

Admittedly, his invention was improving and improving, but it was still far from perfect. It'd take another couple of months until he could even think about human teleporting, but that was fine. Castiel had time after all. For an invention this revolutionary, the company wouldn't pressure him to be faster. At least not yet.

Castiel stepped behind the console determinedly, anticipation rising him like always when he tested. It was thrilling every time.

"Since they worked fine the last times, I'm gonna leave the basic settings as they were. I'm simply increasing the intensity to 65 in the hope of improving the outcome," he said for the camera absentmindedly, fiddling with one of the regulators until it was set on the right amount.

"I'm gonna start testing now," Castiel announced and let his hand hover over the big black button. Just like every time, he was nervous. If all three of his test object came out on the other side, he'd have fixed the biggest problem he'd had with his invention so far. Last time, the car had come out colorless, the human tooth had disappeared completely and the rat hadn't had its tail.

It was time for some progress.

He pressed the button.

Just like the previous 432 times, a beam shot out of the opening of the teleporter and dipped the toy in blue light. Electricity was crackling, sparks flying, and just a second later, the car had disappeared. A short while after, the other part of the machine came to life. The same blue light shot out of the top and aimed downwards, making the whole room glow brightly. Electricity, sparks, and all of a sudden, the car was there.

Once the light stopped, Castiel hurried over to the plastic thing to inspect it. It was fine -- more than fine actually. The colors hadn't faded, every part was where it belonged... It was his best result so far!

He held the toy out for the camera.

"Part one of the test was more than successful," he said, smiling. "Now part two, the human tooth."

Like before, Castiel showed the object to the camera, set it down in the teleporter and pressed the button without much hesitancy. The human tooth was fine.

"Part two of the test just as successful," he smiled, showing the camera quickly and turning towards the cage with the rat in it.

"Part three, the teleportation of a live rodent," he muttered and pulled the rat out of its cage on its tail. He showed the camera, set it down and pressed the button quickly before it could run away. That was the hardest part with living test objects -- they always ran.

Surprisingly enough, the rat, too, came out unharmed, no parts missing for once. Castiel beamed in happiness.

"Part three, also successful!" he announced, held the rodent up shortly, and shoved it back into its cage. He'd have to keep an eye on it the following few days, he wasn't sure if there were gonna be any repercussions yet. Sure, for now the rodent seemed alright, but you could never know what was happening in a rat's brain.

Shoving the test objects back on the shelf, he chose other ones and kept testing, changing some settings every now and then to see their effects. It went extraordinarily well. If he kept up that pace, it wouldn't take him a lot longer than a year to finish! Castiel was content.

When he looked down at his watch the next time he was surprised to see it was already past three. Damn it. He'd missed lunch again.

Knowing himself though, Castiel had brought a box with a sandwich in it, so he'd have at least a little something to eat. And that's what he did, opening the box hungrily, and proceeded to take a huge bite of his tuna sandwich. Amazing. He hadn't realized he was starving.

With his mouth still full, his gaze fell onto the green box in his hands. He stopped mid-chew, tilting his head, and an idea tugged at him from the back of his mind.

Just for the fun of it, he set the box down in the teleporter and pressed the button. It appeared on the other side -- red.

Damn it.

"And I thought I'd fixed it," he mumbled, his mood suddenly not as elevated as before, and took another bite of his sandwich disappointedly. Every time things went well, he had to screw it up.

"Working hard as always, I see," a voice behind him suddenly said and Castiel spun around in surprise. Dean Winchester! What the hell was he doing here?

Castiel gulped down what was still in his mouth. "I-- I missed lunch," he then stuttered, a pathetic attempt to justify himself, but all Dean did was laugh.

"It's three pm, man," he said and Castiel shrugged self-consciously. It wasn't like he didn't know that, he just got absorbed by his work sometimes. What was wrong with that?

"Wh-what are you doing here anyway?" Castiel asked, an uncomfortably nervous feeling forming in his gut like every time Dean did as much as look at him.

"Garth broke his legs," he explained and Castiel's eyebrows shot in the air.

"Legs? As in, plural?"

"Yep," Dean said. "Fell down the stairs or something."

Wow, okay.

Here was the thing. Garth was wonderful, really; he was kind, funny and a little dorky, but he was also _very_ clumsy. It was nothing new for him to show up at work with various injuries and every time you'd ask him what had happened, the story was even more ridiculous. Usually, it wasn't as bad as two broken legs though, so he always managed to come by Castiel's laboratory when he had to.

You see, Garth and Amara were the supervisors of second floor, one of them coming to check on Castiel once or twice a week at least, wanting to see his progress. They took turns, normally, and even though Amara had done nothing wrong, Castiel preferred Garth to her. She was a little intense at times...

Also, for some weird reason, she'd kept sending him angry glances lately.

"Anyway," Dean changed the subject and took a look at his clipboard. After all he was Garth's substitute for the day, probably because Amara wasn't able to supervise the whole floor all on her own. It was a big building. "How's the teleporter coming along?"

"Fine," Castiel grumbled and picked up the red box still lying on the bottom. "Just great."

"A little frustrated, I take it," Dean joked, a smile on his lips, and Castiel's heart fluttered like so many times lately. He'd fallen so hard... "Don't worry, you'll figure it out eventually."

"I-- I guess I will," Castiel muttered, not all that hopeful, but Dean nodded confidently.

"I'm sure of it," he said. His eyes lit up all of a sudden. "Hey, you think you can give me a demonstration?"

"Y-You want to watch?" Castiel repeated, just to be sure, and Dean nodded.

"I'm curious."

"A-Alright." Castiel blinked. He didn't expect that turn of events but oh well. "Choose an object then," he said, calmed down by the fact that their conversation was work-related now.

"What about this?" Dean asked and held up his clipboard.

"That should do," Castiel nodded and took the object from him, setting it down in the teleporter. "Press the button."

"The black one?" he asked and Castiel nodded. Dean did.

The sound of electricity filled the room, sparks flew, blue light illuminated everything; then the clipboard appeared on the other side. Castiel picked it up and smiled, relieved. It had worked!

"Wow," Dean said from behind him with barely contained awe in his voice. Castiel turned in his direction and was greeted with an excited, mind-blowing grin. "That was so freaking _cool_ , man!"

"Thank you, Dean," Castiel answered, flustered, and he felt his cheeks redden slightly. He passed the clipboard back to Dean.

"No, really," Dean said and his voice turned into something more serious. His smile never faded. "You're a genius, Cas."

And again, Castiel didn't know what to say to that. So he just stared, the silence stretching further and further.

How could it be that this person, this perfect, kind, undeniably gorgeous man was standing next to him in this moment, praising his work? Praising his intellect? It was almost too good to be true.

There was no way Castiel deserved to be looked at like that...

And then there was that _smile_.

How could _anyone_ smile at him like that? How could anyone smile like that, period? It was a smile that could light up the sky, Castiel was sure of it.

Why the hell did Castiel not spontaneously combust when that smile was directed at him? How did he survive? Castiel didn't know either. But he suddenly remembered vividly why he wanted this guy so badly and what he'd promised himself this morning.

 _Ask him out_ , his mind screamed at him. _You have to_.

He wasn't sure he could do it.

But that was when another thought crawled into his brain, a small possibility, the faintest chance, a _wish_ that he knew was unlikely to be fulfilled.

 _He might say yes_.

What if he didn't though? What if Dean didn't want to go out with him, get to know him? What if Castiel wasn't enough? And he knew he wasn't.

What would Castiel do then?

He didn't know. But was it really all that important? He needed to at least try...

 _Now or never_ , he told himself.

"Would-you-do-me-the-honor-of-going-out-to-dinner-with-me?" Castiel blurted out all of a sudden, his eyes closing in embarrassment for a second. God, he could've said that so much better. He forced himself to look at Dean.

Dean's heart started racing.

"Uh..." he muttered, not knowing what to reply. He was so stupid. _Of course_ Castiel was going to ask him out; how did he expect anything else? Why else would the man send him flowers; why else would he bother to do all these things for him without wanting anything in return? Of course it all lead up to this.

So why the hell hadn't Dean thought of an answer just yet? How did he not know what to say?

 _Oh no_ , a sudden realization hit him. Had he given Castiel hope when he'd stared at him just now, caught in the moment? Had Dean lead him on without meaning to?

"I--" Dean started and stopped. Did he _want_ to go out with Castiel? Did it make any difference? He wasn't gay after all; hadn't ever been. He'd slept with more women than he could count, and there was probably no point in going out with Castiel if Dean wasn't even into guys, right?

He had to say no.

"I'm... I'm sorry," he ended up saying and he could practically _h_ _ear_ Castiel's heart shattering as he visibly deflated. Dean felt sick all of a sudden, the words like lead on his tongue. "I'm... I'm honored, really," he continued, trying to save what was left to save, trying to make Castiel feel less rejected than he did right now. He wasn't sure if that was even possible. "The flowers you sent me, they... they were beautiful, really. And I appreciate that you fixed the elevator for me, but... But I just don't swing that way."

"It's-- it's okay," Castiel pressed out. "I understand, you don't have to justify yourself."

"Believe me, if I was gay, I'd go out with you in a second!" he assured him, but Castiel just shook his head and turned away, a clear indication for Dean to leave. His disappointment was visible in the sagging of his shoulders.

Dean didn't know what to do.

"I--"

"Don't," Castiel whispered, avoiding his gaze, and Dean gulped down his words. He nodded, understanding.

"I really am sorry," he repeated one last time before reluctantly turning away and leaving the room.

His apology didn't feel like enough.

* * *

Amara was _seething_.

It couldn't be true. She'd heard it herself while pressing her ear against the door, she had seen Dean leave the room with her own eyes, but it _couldn't_ be true. There was no way.

That prick. That stupid, arrogant prick.

How _dare_ he ask out _her_ man?

It was bad enough Castiel had sent him flowers, did he have to go on and ask him out, too? It was unbelievable.

It didn't matter that Dean had said no. It didn't matter that she _knew_ Dean was hers; it was the fact that Castiel had the audacity to even _think_ he could have a chance that got her all riled up. Stupid, arrogant prick.

He'd pay for this, Amara would make sure of it. He'd pay for this and if it was the last thing she did.

* * *

The next few days passed in a blur for Castiel.

He forced himself out of bed in the mornings and drove to work, taking the stairs when he arrived instead of the elevator to avoid coincidental meetings with Dean. He stopped sending flowers, knowing Dean wouldn't want them, and buried himself in his work, distracting himself from the rejection he still hadn't fully recovered from.

Yes, he hadn't known Dean for long but Castiel had fallen hard enough for it to sting horribly. His heart hurt but Castiel chose to ignore it and forced himself to keep going. He'd lived through worse after all...

Still, he didn't know if he could look Dean in the eye when he saw him again.

Castiel arrived in his laboratory early once more, getting to work right away as it was the best distraction he could think of. He was lonely at home, the empty apartment suddenly starting to feel suffocating. Being at work, he'd decided, was the better alternative in the end.

With the increased amount of time spent with the teleporter, it was coming along quite well, more and more problems dissolving in Castiel's presence. It wasn't much but it was _something_ and Castiel was proud of it.

Or, well, he tried to be.

Because Amara was doing an amazing job of ruining that for him.

She'd been bugging him ever since the day he got rejected, stopping by to 'check in on his work', and because Castiel couldn't exactly tell her she was annoying, he never said anything against it. Nevertheless, it was a little disconcerting, feeling her eyes boring into his back, the inexplicable scowl on her face never disappearing. Castiel didn't even know what it was he'd done wrong, but it must've been something major the way she was looking at him...

It was four days after _the incident_ now and right on time, Amara stalked into his laboratory like she owned the place. Her eyes traveled through the room as if she hadn't seen it a thousand times already, and she had a skeptical frown on her face. It was unnerving but nothing special.

What was special though, was the fact that this time, she wasn't alone.

"I wanna see progress today, Castiel," she said instead of a greeting and Castiel eyed up the man standing behind her. He didn't know the guy by name -Charles, Charlie, Chuck; something like that- but he'd seen him around enough times to know that he was another supervisor that usually worked on the floor above this one. The man seemed a little uncomfortable, as if he'd been dragged along by the woman in front of him -- and Castiel was pretty sure that was the case.

"The teleporter _is_ progressing," Castiel replied, focusing his attention back on Amara, and was a little taken aback by the scoff that followed.

"Oh please," she said, eyeing him up in annoyance. "That's what you call progress? Sending toy cars back and forth? I wanna see _s_ omething _new_ , Castiel; I wanna see something revolutionary! Something like human teleportation."

Castiel set his jaw at that, biting back the words on the tip of his tongue. Amara had no idea how complicated his invention worked, how much more time this _revolutionary_ _progress_ would take and just how impossible it was to fulfill Amara's expectations at this stage. It was a wonder he'd gotten _this_ far already! Why was she complaining?

"I apologize, but it's not ready for that just yet," he forced out reluctantly, knowing he'd just given Amara more ammunition to shoot him with. He braced himself mentally.

"Oh?" she asked and her hand came up to her mouth in a pretentious gesture of surprise. Castiel felt sick at the sight of it. "Well, how do you know if you've never even tried?" she continued and suddenly there was something in her eyes -- an evil twinkle, a smug glint... Castiel didn't know. But he knew it was better not to reply right now.

"You should try it out now," she said, leaving no room for arguments.

"Wh-what...? What do you mean, _now_?" Castiel asked and shot a quick look at the awkward man standing next to Amara. He guiltily averted his eyes when he caught Castiel looking and fixed his gaze on Amara instead.

Okay, so Castiel wasn't gonna get any help from this side then.

"I _mean_ , get in the teleporter," Amara emphasized, words deliberately spoken slowly, and Castiel stared at her in shock.

"Wh--what?" he croaked and his voice betrayed him for a moment. "I can't get in there, it's gonna kill me!" he exclaimed.

"No, it won't," Amara waved him off. The man next to her looked at her with wide eyes. Maybe he hadn't been fully aware of Amara's plan either...

"You trust your machine, don't you? Now prove just how much you believe in it."

Castiel's eyebrows shot upwards. Amara couldn't be serious. Was she really suggesting what he thought she was?

All of a sudden, Castiel was furious.

"Listen, Miss, I'm truly sorry, but this has _nothing_ to do with _trust_. The teleporter simply isn't _ready_ for transporting human beings at this stage; I won't get out of there alive!" he spit out the words, just barely keeping himself from yelling. He knew that shouting at Amara would do him more harm than good; she was cruel enough as it was. But he was angry so who cared? "Who authorized this?" he then asked and crossed his arms in defense.

"Nobody did, Castiel, I _am_ the authority. But I can assure you, Winchester Corp is not content with the amount of time and resources your invention currently takes. Now, if you would please get in the _damn_ teleporter," she ordered and all of a sudden her voice was ice-cold, the pretence of false friendliness completely disappeared. It was eerily quiet for a few seconds, in which Castiel could only stare at Amara in disbelief. She wouldn't let it go, he realized. She really would make him test his own invention on himself.

 _There are worse ways to die_ , a taunting voice said in the back of his brain.

But he didn't _want_ to die...

"I--"

" _Go_."

One last pleading look at the man next to her -he only glanced away uncomfortably- and Castiel deflated. There was nothing he could do, he realized. He knew right in that moment that he didn't actually have a choice anymore.

But why was he even complaining? He was gonna die, so what? It wasn't as if he had much in this life anyway. No parents, no partner, no children... Only pain and frustration. His life was worthless.

The invention was all he had and it wasn't even working properly.

One moment later, Castiel was moving. His feet worked without command, slowly stepping closer and closer to his teleporter, his most precious possession, his _child_ \-- and then he walked inside.

Hopefully, his invention would survive this test run. At least one of them had to live -- and if it wasn't him...?

"Ready?" Amara asked, obviously not really caring, and walked over to the console. "See you on the other side," she announced with a sadistic smirk on her face.

She pressed the button.

All Castiel could feel was pain.

* * *

There was a voice Castiel didn't quite recognize. It was weirdly familiar. He couldn't put a face to it though...

There was also darkness. Lots of it.

 _Oh_ , Castiel realized, that was because he had his eyes closed.

Forcing them open, the action taking more energy than anticipated, he groaned at the brightness of his surroundings. Why did everything have to hurt so much?

Not wanting to move, his limbs feeling heavy and wobbly, he was painfully aware of every part of his body and closed his eyes again with a whimper.

"Are you okay, dude?" the same voice as before called out to him. "You don't look too well," he stated.

All Castiel could answer with was an unintelligible muttering that was supposed to sound like, "I'm fine." Whoever was with him sighed heavily.

"Listen, man, I really don't have time for this. You'd do me a huge favor if you explained to me why you came out of my fucking teleporter and why the hell I feel like I'm looking into a mirror," the voice said, a little impatient, and Castiel forced his eyes open again slowly. This time the pain was bearable.

His eyes met familiar blue ones.

"Who are you?" Castiel asked with a slur, his head swimming. If he didn't know any better, he'd say this guy looked just like himself...

"I'm Jimmy. Who are _you_?" the man answered.

"Castiel," he muttered as an answer, sitting up slowly and taking a look around. He was in his laboratory. Had his invention worked after all? Did he come out on the other side? It certainly seemed so...

But where was everyone? Amara and that other guy?

Suddenly, Jimmy's words from before registered. "Wait, what did you mean, _your_ teleporter?"

"I mean the teleporting machine that _I_ built, which _you_ just fell out of," he said bluntly and once again Castiel was stunned by just how similar they both looked. Truly this wasn't a coincidence, was it?

"But..." Castiel started, not knowing where to start. There were so many things wrong with this. "But _I_ built the teleporter. I invested months in it, it's my biggest invention so far. It'll be revolutionary once it works."

"Months? Dude, I've been working on this one for years," Jimmy chuckled. "Believe me when I say building that thing takes time."

"But... I--" Castiel stuttered. "I'm not lying!"

"Alright, look. Dude -- Castiel, was it? You're obviously confused, so let's make a few things clear," he started, raising his eyebrows dramatically. "We're on Earth, the year is 2017 and I certainly don't have the time to play this game, so please just tell me what you're doing here, okay? Or, even better, just leave."

"I won't leave! This is _my_ laboratory! Winchester Corp is paying good money to keep me here!" Castiel shouted, exasperated, completely disbelieving this guy's ignorance. Yes, he might look like Castiel but that was no excuse for being an assbutt.

Jimmy looked at him quizzically. "What the hell is Winchester Corp?" he asked.

Castiel blinked. "Aren't we... Wait, where are we?" He sounded alarmed.

"Sandover, man. Seriously."

"S-Sandover?"

Sandover. Not Winchester. But how...? What did that even _mean_?

"I--" Castiel couldn't believe it. Here he was, everything looking exactly like he remembered, and yet this man claimed they were somewhere else. How was this possible?

...A teleporting malfunction maybe?

"What's your last name?" Castiel suddenly asked, realizing the only possible explanation for all this.

"Novak. Why?"

"Oh God, I can't _believe_ this!" Castiel exclaimed. So he was right. This _was_ a parallel universe. Winchester Corp was Sandover, and this guy -Jimmy, he reminded himself- was _him_ in the other world. Well, that certainly explained the creepy similarity.

"What, what is it?" Jimmy asked and Castiel could hear his annoyance.

"I'm trapped in a parallel universe."

There was silence between Jimmy and Castiel while they stared at each other. Then, Jimmy threw his hands up in defeat and walked away.

"Whatever. I'm going home."

What? No!

"You can't leave me here!" Castiel screamed and faster than expected, he had jumped to his feet, scrambling after Jimmy in a panic. He wrapped a hand around the man's wrist forcefully. "You gotta help me get back! _Now_!" he demanded.

Jimmy turned around slowly, a fiery scowl on his face and his voice was dangerously low when he spoke, a warning hidden underneath. "Listen, Castiel. I really am sorry that you're stuck in this world or whatever, and you're more than welcome to stay here and try to fix it, but do _not_ pull me into this. I have a life outside of work, okay, and I promised my wife and daughter that I'd be home in time for dinner, which, thanks to you, I probably won't be anymore. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be back tomorrow morning to help you any way I can if you're still here. Until then, stay out of my way."

And with those words, Jimmy freed his wrist from Castiel's grip, leaving him behind, dumbfounded.

Who would've thought his parallel universe self would be this obnoxious?

* * *

The night passed in a blur for Castiel. He didn't sleep, not that he would have been able to even if he wanted to. To be completely honest, Castiel was scared shitless. Trapped in a world where everything appeared to be the same but nothing was as it seemed, Castiel was left alone with his thoughts and it was driving him mad.

The first few hours after Jimmy had left, Castiel buried himself in work. He inspected the teleporter and wrote down everything he saw; how much progress Jimmy had already made, what materials and settings he'd used; just everything Castiel would need to know if he wanted to get back home. The outcome was frustrating more than anything.

Even though Jimmy had been working on the teleporter for far longer than Castiel, Jimmy's invention was clearly behind his. The man hadn't even changed the material of the teleporter, which was about the first thing Castiel had done when he realized that regular iron would end up dissolving. Castiel would have to replace about half of the machine to get it up to his standards. It was unbelievable, really.

And naturally, because Castiel was Castiel, he had a breakdown at about midnight. It was all too frustrating, the situation impossible, and it proved to simply be too much for him. So, crouching down behind the console, he started sobbing his freaking _guts_ out.

It was disgusting and pathetic and Castiel only hoped nobody would ever find out about this part of the night.

By the time Jimmy came back, Castiel was fully back into work-mode.

Not saying anything, Jimmy leaned back and watched Castiel fiddling with a screw in frustration. It just wouldn't _fit_! Stupid thing.

Castiel threw it against the wall.

"Did you sleep at all tonight?" Jimmy asked and came to sit next to him on the floor. He was in a better mood today and almost emphatic concerning Castiel. Not that the latter was able to appreciate it, really.

"Obviously not," Castiel grumbled in reply. "It's gonna take ages to get the teleporter up to my standards and send me back."

"Alright. Whatever it is you mean by 'your standards,' we're gonna get there, okay? Stop stressing about this so much, you can't change it right this second. And I'm gonna help you," he said encouragingly and Castiel looked up at him hopefully. Then he nodded.

"Okay..." he sighed. "Still don't feel like sleeping though."

Jimmy only laughed. "If you say so. But you do need a break," he decided. "So let's grab a bite to eat and then you tell me about your life in that other dimension."

Castiel nodded again, reluctantly. His stomach agreed with Jimmy's decision and even though Castiel was hesitant to leave the laboratory, he knew there wasn't much point in working in the condition he was in.

They left a few minutes later. Jimmy egoistically decided that burgers were the perfect distraction from just about anything and Castiel grudgingly agreed. There was nothing a good burger couldn't fix.

According to Jimmy, the nearest burger joint was just down the street, thankfully, and for whatever reason, you could get burgers for breakfast. Castiel didn't dare complain about it but silently cursed himself for not having thought about a burger breakfast before. It seemed like the perfect idea.

They entered the place and sat down in the booth farthest from the entrance to have an illusion of privacy and ordered their food soon after. Only now did Castiel realize how hungry he really was.

"So..." Jimmy started awkwardly.

"So..." Castiel repeated. Neither of them really seemed to know what to say. Awkward silence stretched between them.

It was Castiel who finally asked the first question, and if only to avoid talking about his own life. It wasn't particularly exciting, he had to admit. And rather lonely, honestly.

"So, um... You mentioned you had a wife? And kids?" Castiel asked and looked up at Jimmy insecurely. It was so weird looking into your own face and imagining them living a completely different life than yourself.

"Kid. Singular," Jimmy corrected him. "But, yeah. Wife and daughter. Met Amelia in high school and haven't been with anyone else since." He smiled a little at the memory. "And my daughter Claire's ten now. She's wonderful. If you're hanging around, you could meet them, maybe. We could say you're my long-lost twin." He cracked a smile at that and Castiel couldn't help but smile back.

Silence settled back in.

"Did you... I mean. In your world, are you with Amelia, too?" Jimmy then asked, an insecure tone in his voice. Castiel shook his head slowly.

"No..." he answered. "I'm not even sure I know an Amelia in my dimension... Besides, I'm afraid my universe has made me gay anyway," he announced, smiling nervously. He didn't know how Jimmy would react to him being gay -he didn't know if he was homophobic or anything- but seeing as Jimmy was _him_ basically, he believed it was safe to tell him.

"Huh," was all Jimmy said to that. "So... you're with a guy then?"

Shifting in his seat uncomfortably, Castiel shook his head. "I'm not with a guy either. I'm not with anyone, unfortunately."

His thoughts wandered to Dean involuntarily. He pushed him away.

"Hm," Jimmy said. And then, seeming to remember something, he smiled and announced, "I had a gay thing once."

"Oh?" Castiel asked and raised an eyebrow.

A lewd smirk appeared on Jimmy's face. "Well, not so much a 'gay thing', because I didn't, like, sleep with him or whatever, but this one guy had the _biggest_ crush on me," he said and laughed at the memory. "He'd write me poems all the time, it was kinda cute actually. But I wasn't really interested, you know? Also, taken." There was a wistful smile on his face now. "But it was still nice... Especially because Dean was the most popular guy in school and if that didn't boost my ego, then I don't know."

"D-Dean?" Castiel asked, feeling somewhat crushed by that new knowledge. Knowing that Jimmy'd had the chance to be with Dean while Castiel himself was desperately trying to win his own Dean's heart and failing, was almost worse than Dean's rejection had felt like.

Okay, that wasn't true. That had hurt like a bitch.

But still, Castiel couldn't deny his jealousy.

"You know a Dean then?" Jimmy asked curiously and Castiel only nodded curtly, not in the mood to explain. Jimmy noticed, thankfully, and quickly changed the subject.

"So, uh... Anyway. Let's not talk about our love lives anymore. What have you invented so far?"

And finally, that was a question Castiel was willing to answer.

They spent the rest of breakfast talking about the things they'd created, noticing some similarities but also surprisingly many differences in them. Castiel quietly made a note in his head to start working on some of the things Jimmy had mentioned. Some of his ideas were truly genius! But then again, Jimmy was kinda him, so he shouldn't be all that surprised.

Sometime during their conversation, their food arrived and they stopped talking in favor of devouring their truly _delicious_ burgers. Castiel also made a note in his head about this one, ' _Find the equivalent to this burger joint in my world._ '

When they were done -Jimmy had insisted on paying-, they returned to the laboratory in a much more optimistic mood than before. Castiel was sure they'd be able to figure this out and send him back, no matter how long it'd take. Together, they'd manage.

What neither of them expected when they arrived back in their lab though, was the unconscious person lying on the on the floor next to the teleporter.

"I'm not sure I wanna know the answer to this, but... Is this your Dean or my Dean?"

* * *

The week after he rejected Castiel had passed slowly for Dean. Usually, he liked his job -loved it even- but this last week had just been weird.

First of all, Dean had come in rather early the day after, having gotten used to receiving flowers in the mornings. Needless to say, there were no flowers that day and Dean wasn't sure why he was feeling so out of it when no delivery came. He was surprised, for the most part. And bothered. But he knew he had no reason to feel that way. He had more or less _told_ Castiel to stop and he should be glad the guy had listened to him... Shouldn't he?

No matter what he should or shouldn't be feeling though, Dean was on edge all day long, snapping at everyone who even dared to talk to him. And despite knowing he wasn't thinking rationally, Dean couldn't help but curse all these people for addressing him like it was just any other day. Because actually, it was exactly that, just any other normal day, and still, for some reason, Dean felt like it wasn't.

It didn't help that Meg had decided to make fun of him when she noticed that there were no flowers for Dean that morning. "Drove away your admirer, I see," she commented smugly when it was past the usual delivery time and she'd noticed Dean visibly deflating. All Dean did in response was send her a lethal glare and leave her behind at her desk.

The second thing that made his week weirder than anything, was that Amara didn't so much as _glance_ in his direction when he saw her in the hallway. Apparently, he'd driven away _both_ his admirers. Not that Dean missed them or anything...

No, losing Amara's affection really was no loss. As for Castiel... Dean had to admit, the flowers had been kinda nice. And the guy was friendly at least. As opposed to Amara.

But really, Dean didn't miss either of their attention.

Or that's what he kept telling himself at least.

Still, the days passed and without really noticing, Dean kept an eye out for Castiel -- but for nothing. He didn't see him during lunch, he didn't meet him in the elevator, he didn't see him in the hallways. Nothing. Nada.

So, yeah, after a day or two, it was obvious to Dean that Castiel was avoiding him. And again, Dean couldn't tell why it was bothering him so much.

On the fourth day after, Dean stayed home instead of going to work. He called in sick, not wanting to deal with people, or anything, really. He didn't even want to deal with himself, but sadly, there was no escaping there. Still, it was better to stay home for a day and figure it all out before he started going mad and throwing stuff around.

The extra day didn't help, to be honest, but at least he'd had a day off. He still went to work in a dark spirit the next day.

"Mornin', Meg," he grumbled absentmindedly, not really paying attention to anything when he walked up to the counter.

"Hey," she replied quietly and for some reason, it didn't sound as perky as he was used to. A little alarmed, Dean turned his attention to her and looked her up and down. She seemed tired, like she hadn't slept at all that night, and her shoulders were tense. She was awfully quiet.

And that's when Dean noticed everything else. The unusual quietness of the lobby, whispers where loud conversations usually filled the air, the shocked looks on some of the people's faces. Everything just seemed wrong and Dean couldn't pinpoint what exactly was the source of this behavior.

"Uh, Meg?" he said, turning back to her. "Did something happen?"

"Hell yeah, something happened," she said bitterly. "Someone died, actually. But you wouldn't know because you haven't been here," she said and Dean's eyes widened in shock.

"What? Who died? What happened?"

"You know that Novak guy? The one with the teleporter?" she asked. "That's the one."

" _Cas?_ " he exclaimed as cold terror began to fill him. Castiel couldn't be dead, he couldn't be! His heart began to race. "What do you mean, he died, tell me what happened, _now_!"

And finally Meg looked up at him. "Want the short story or the long story?"

"I don't care," he answered. "Just tell me."

"Well, to summarize, your girlfriend _Amara_ made Novak try out his teleporter on himself. Needless to say, it didn't work," she said dryly. Dean's vision blurred all of a sudden and he had to lean on the counter to stay upright. Cas was dead. _Dead_. No... "Amara claims it wasn't her fault though. She says he _offered_ to go in there and she tried to stop him, but I'm betting my ass that's not true. Novak's too smart for that and Amara's too much of a beast." Meg took a short break to collect herself then. "Thing is, she had her brother with her -Chuck, you know him?- and he backs up everything she says. And she wiped away the fingerprints on the button. That's why your dad can't really blame anything on her yet and he can't fire her either. It's pointless," she decided and stopped shortly. "But I'm sure he'll find a way to get rid of her. Poor Castiel though," she then said quietly and the sincerity in her voice made Dean's heart crumble. "I heard his screams down here."

Dean felt sick. This was all his fault. His fault for not firing Amara when he should have so long ago. His fault for not protecting Castiel from Amara when he knew she had it out for him. It was his fault that Castiel was _dead_!

He gripped the counter even harder. His knees were getting a little weak.

"Dean?" Meg's tentative voice pulled him out of his silent suffering. "Are you okay?"

"No, I am not okay," he almost shouted at her. "I am so not okay! This is all my fault, it's my fucking fault he's..." he trailed of and rubbed a hand over his face in an attempt to collect himself. He noticed a few stray tears.

"Well, there's... there's a small possibility -a _really_ small possibility, I might add- that he's not dead," Meg started slowly. Dean perked up. "There was no residue in the teleporter, ashes or whatever, so he _might've_ been teleported somewhere else. Could've been anywhere though, so I wouldn't get my hopes up, but it's a chance," she concluded. "He could be in a brothel in Vegas as far as we know."

"He might be alive?" was all Dean cared about. "I have to find him. Meg, we have to find him! I know he's out there somewhere, he can't just be dead like that," he announced, not caring that he was starting to sound a little delirious. "What if we... What if we get in the teleporter ourselves? We might find him that way, it could take us to the same place it took him!" he realized and gripped Meg's arm almost painfully hard.

"Yeah, _or_ we might end up _dead_ ," Meg emphasized and ripped her arm away. "Forget it. I'm not going."

"Alright, but I am," he said and set his jaw. "And I need _you_ to press the button. Now come on," he yelled and gripped her arm again, pulling her out of her booth and towards the stairs despite her protests.

When they arrived in Castiel's lab, it was surprisingly empty. Apparently, the investigation, if you could even call it that, was already over.

Without hesitation, Dean stepped into the teleporter.

"Go ahead," he ordered and glared at Meg, who was standing next to the button insecurely.

"Are you one hundred percent sure about this?" she asked and Dean nodded without a second thought.

"Give us two weeks before you give up on us," he said. "If we're not back by then, we're probably dead."

Meg nodded, biting back her words. She knew he wouldn't listen to her anyway.

"Okay," she said and laid her hand down on the button. Before pressing it, she said, "Dean... Be careful."

He braced himself for the pain.

* * *

He woke up to lowered voices.

"Do you think we should lie him down somewhere?" the first voice said tentatively. "A mattress or something?"

"Nah, you were lying on the floor, too, and you were fine," the exact _sa_ _me_ voice said in a slightly higher tone.

"Doesn't mean it was comfortable..."

That was when Dean suddenly started to feel again. _Fuck_ , his body hurt. He let out a groan.

"Dean?" the deeper voice said.

"Dude, you awake?"

Dean opened his eyes slowly.

"Hey, buddy," a familiar face looked down on him and smiled. "Good to see you're alive, man."

Dean's eyes widened. This almost looked like... " _Cas_?" he exclaimed and a relieved smile broke out on his face. His hands found Castiel's cheeks instinctively. "God, Cas, I found you, I really did, I'm so glad," he said, not really believing it himself, and whether it was the dizziness from being unconscious or whether he was simply being emotional, he pulled Castiel down swiftly and pressed his lips against his passionately.

Castiel pulled away with a squeak.

"Ew, okay, that is _definitely_ your Dean," he announced, gaining a safe distance from the man in question, and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Ew," he said again.

Dean was a little offended. He was not _that_ bad of a kisser... "Seriously, Castiel, you could've warned me at least."

"I-- I didn't know he was gonna do that!" the second voice said and all of a sudden, Dean noticed the other person in the room, kneeling by Dean's thighs, and his eyes almost fell out of his head. It was Castiel, staring at him with wide eyes. But the guy across the room, that was also Castiel, wasn't it?

"What the...?" he started and sat up quickly. "Why's there two of you?" he asked, but the answer was obvious. He was going mad. The teleporter had screwed up his brain.

It was the only explanation.

"Oh, yeah, that," Castiel-from-across-the-room said. "I'm not actually Castiel. I'm Jimmy. That's Castiel." He pointed towards the guy by Dean's knees. "He's the one you should be kissing."

Flushing, Dean ignored the comment and asked instead, "But... but why do you look the same if you're not the same person?"

"Let's call us twins," Jimmy said smugly. That's when Castiel chose to speak up again.

"We, uh... we actually kinda are the same person," he explained slowly, holding Dean's gaze. "This is... a parallel universe, more or less."

"A parallel universe?" Dean asked, dumbfounded. Today was getting weirder and weirder.

"It's easier to just roll with it and not question it," Jimmy announced. "That's what I'm doing, anyway."

"O-okay," Dean stuttered.

Awkward silence followed. Dean was too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice, Castiel was too busy staring at Dean and Jimmy was just standing there watching them both, feeling like he was intruding on something.

"Aaaaalright, I'm out of here," he announced, sensing a private conversation coming, and left the room quickly.

Neither Dean nor Castiel really noticed.

"Are you ... okay?" Castiel finally asked, beginning to feel a little weird in the quietness of the room.

Dean looked up at him. "Yeah... Yeah. I mean, my head hurts, but... It's alright."

"That's good," Castiel muttered and forced a smile.

Silence surrounded them once again. Dean didn't avert his eyes, just stared right back at Castiel until the latter had to look away himself. He fixed his gaze on a dirty stain on the wall and fiddled with his sleeves nervously.

"You, uh... You kissed Jimmy," Castiel said slowly, still not looking at Dean, and Dean was thankful for it. His face was burning up all of a sudden.

"Uh... I guess so," he admitted.

"Can I ask... why?" Castiel asked hesitantly and his gaze flickered to Dean shortly and back to the wall.

"I thought he was you," Dean said silently.

Castiel let out a shaky breath. "I know, you said my name, I just... I thought I wasn't... I thought you didn't want... I thought you weren't gay," he settled on saying and finally, he looked back at Dean. His gaze was full of hope but also a little bit of hurt. Dean knew that last part was his fault.

"I'm not," Dean replied out of reflex and Castiel narrowed his eyes at him. "I mean... I might be ... bi or something. Apparently," he admitted.

Castiel couldn't help but let out a snort at that.

"Would you... give me a second chance?" Dean asked hopefully. "And join me for dinner some time? When we're back home?"

Castiel smiled at him in response. "Yes," he said simply. "I'd like that."

"Great," Dean replied and smiled right back.

They continued staring at each other for a few more seconds.

"Are you two done being awkward?" Jimmy suddenly asked, standing in the half-opened door. When he saw Dean and Castiel sitting on the floor staring at each other, he sighed. "Obviously not," he commented but entered the room nevertheless. They'd probably never stop doing this if he left.

"Can we get to work now, Castiel? I know you want to go home and make out with your boyfriend, don't you? Come on," he insisted and ignored the way Castiel blushed. He stood up quickly.

"Yeah, let's start."

In only a few words, Castiel explained to Dean how he believed they were able to travel back, meaning, changing Jimmy's teleporter so it was as close to Castiel's one as possible, getting inside and hoping for the best.

Thanks to Castiel's notes from the night, it was fairly easy to explain to Jimmy and Dean what needed to be done and they started working quickly. Jimmy ended up helping Castiel with the more scientific stuff while Dean preferred the more hands-on parts and did more of the mechanical works. They worked surprisingly well as a team.

Four days passed vigorously, only interrupted by a few hours of sleep every night. It wasn't exactly comfortable to sleep on the cold tile floor but Jimmy had at least brought Dean and him a blanket, which Castiel was thankful for. And no matter how hard the floor was, being able to sleep curled up in Dean's arms was worth it all.

On the fifth day, everything was finished. Castiel sent Jimmy to get a few test objects, just to see if it was working the way it should, and Jimmy didn't hesitate to do so.

When the tests turned out to be successful, they decided it was time to get in themselves.

"Thank you for everything, Jimmy," Castiel said as a goodbye and wrapped the man up in an unexpected hug. He didn't know what else to do to express his thankfulness. Jimmy had done everything in his power to help them.

"Yeah, thanks, man," Dean said from beside Castiel and gave Jimmy a quick hug as well.

"No problem guys, you were a blast to hang out with," Jimmy joked but smiled a little wistfully. "I hope you make it home okay," he said a little more seriously.

"Yeah, let's hope so," Castiel agreed tensely. He looked up at Dean. "Are you ready?" he asked and Dean nodded. "Okay then."

They climbed into the teleporter. "Let's hope this thing works," Jimmy muttered, not really calming their nerves, and Castiel reached out to hold Dean's hand. Dean squeezed it shortly and they smiled at each other one last time.

"I'm glad you came here," Castiel confessed and pressed a quick kiss to Dean's lips. Dean only smirked knowingly and pulled him in for another, longer kiss. They didn't part until Jimmy coughed loudly.

"I'm not one to interrupt potential last kisses, but I'm starting to feel like a third wheel, so I'm just gonna press the button now, okay?" Jimmy asked and Dean couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, okay."

"Good luck, fellas," he said and pushed it.

* * *

When Castiel awoke, Dean was leaning over him with a smirk on his face.

"Now, about that dinner..." he winked.

* * *

**Two years later**

"I'm not ready," Castiel said anxiously and gripped Dean's arm tightly. "I can't do this, Dean, drive me home, please," he begged but Dean only laughed in response.

"Dude, you have nothing to be nervous about," he promised. "This is _your_ invention, you know everything about it. All you have to do is talk about it for like five minutes," he reassured him.

"Yeah, in front of _hundreds_ of people!" Castiel exclaimed and tugged on his tie nervously. It was cutting off his airways. Dean instinctively reached out and fixed it for him.

"You know this will be on television, too, right?" Dean mentioned happily, knowing it'd freak Castiel out even more, but not able to stop teasing him. He knew he was a horrible, horrible man.

Castiel's breathing sped up even more.

"Oh, come on. Cas. Calm down," he said and cupped Castiel's face with his hands. "You'll be fine, I know that. Besides, I'll be with you the whole time, so there's nothing to worry about, okay?"

Castiel gulped but nodded determinedly. He pressed a kiss against Dean's lips.

"I'll be fine," he then said, more to himself than anyone else. "You'll be with me."

"Hey, look, it's starting," Dean suddenly said and wrapped his arms around Castiel from behind, just as John Winchester took the stage. Castiel fidgeted in his arms involuntarily.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," John started and proceeded with his 'It's been a long and successful year' speech. Dean didn't bother listening. It was the same every time.

"Now, please welcome the pride of Winchester Corp, Castiel Novak!" he eventually announced and Castiel straightened up, preparing himself mentally. Dean pressed one last kiss to his cheek and let him go. Then Castiel walked on stage, a tentative smile on his face.

John handed him the microphone.

"Um. Hi," he said and smiled into the crowd nervously. He didn't seem to know where to start but Dean knew Castiel would do just fine. Once he started talking about his work, nobody was able to stop him.

"Um, as you probably know, uh, I'm Castiel Novak. I'm here to -- to present to you my newest invention. You've probably already heard what I was working on, but it's, uh, it's a teleporter and it works, so... Yeah," he stuttered and turned around to pull on the cloth that was covering the first part of the machine. The other half was standing across the room, for the demonstration later on.

"With the help of newest technology, I've managed to build a functioning teleporting machine that works within a radius of 12 miles. I know it's not much yet, but it's a start, and I'm sure it'll only improve from there," Castiel continued and his speech was slowly starting to sound more confident when he noticed the stunned looks in the audience. Dean was almost bursting with pride.

"I've been working on it for three years straight. It was a frustrating and wonderful time and I never would have _dreamed_ of standing here in front of you and presenting my invention. But here I am."

Castiel turned to look at Dean, who was standing next to the stage, and smiled.

"I had a little help building it, too. Mostly through reassurances and motivational words, but it was what I needed the most at the time and that's why I want to thank Dean Winchester for helping me whenever he could. So, thank you, Dean," he said and Dean smirked, holding up both his thumbs. Castiel was doing amazing.

"Anyway," Castiel now said and turned back to the crowd. "I'm sure you'd like a demonstration. That's why you're here after all."

Castiel threw a glance back at Dean. "Dean, if you would be so kind."

Brushing his hand against his pocket and what was inside, Dean walked on stage as well, smiling at Castiel before turning to smile at the crowd, and came to stand beside his boyfriend.

"The teleporter consists of two similar parts, which you can see behind me and at the other end of the room," Castiel explained and watched the audience turn their heads curiously. "I've been working on human teleportation for about a year and it's safe to say that teleporting has no repercussions on the human mind or body. It's as safe to use as anything," he said and turned towards Dean.

He motioned for him to get inside and Dean did so willingly. He'd been in there a few times already.

"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't harm and it brings you from one place to another in a second, which is exactly what our modern society needs and wants."

He pressed the button without much hesitation. Dean disappeared and then waved at him from the other side of the room. Castiel smiled as the crowd applauded.

"It also works the other way round," Castiel continued and pressed the button again. A second later, Dean was standing in front of him again.

Until suddenly, he fell to his knees.

"Dean?" he asked in alarm and came closer quickly, thinking that Dean had hurt himself. That was just his luck though, hurting his boyfriend with _his_ invention at the day of the public demonstration.

But that was when Dean pulled a small box out of his pocket, revealing a ring, and smirked at him.

"Castiel Novak," he started and Castiel stopped in his tracks. "Will you marry me?"

It was awfully quiet in the room before... "Hell yes," Castiel shouted and fell to his knees as well to pull Dean in for a passionate kiss. Awkward coughing and tentative cheering eventually pulled them out of their stupor.

And when Castiel suddenly remembered there were cameras watching, he muttered into the microphone, "If you have any questions about the teleporter, ask John Winchester, I'm a little preoccupied right now," and pulled Dean with him off the stage quickly.

It was time for a _heavy_ make out session.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt:  
> "Cas is an inventor at a company and doesn't think of anything but his work. That is until one day when he meets one of his bosses' sons, Dean, and falls in love with him. He attempts to win his heart but Dean rejects him. Amara, another one of Cas' bosses who is also vying for Dean becomes jealous. She forces Cas to test out his latest invention, a teleporter, on himself despite him constantly saying that he still hasn't worked out all the kinks yet. Something goes wrong and Cas is transported to a parallel universe. Dean realizing his feelings tries to get Cas back."


End file.
